Ink fountain



A118- 15, 1939. UDLEY 2,169,681

E. F. DUDLEY Aug. 15, 1939.

INK FOUNTAIN 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed' NOV. 17, 1938 rllnl BY H WMf/W'Wzwmf Ang. 15, 1939. E. F. DUDLY 2,169531 mx FOUNTAIN Filed Nov. 17, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 w I I I ATTORNS.

VPatenter! Aug; 15, 1939 'UNITED ;sTATEs PATENT oFFicE 'alsassi INK 'F'oUN'rAlN Edward F. Dudley, Oak Park, lll., assignor to Miehle Printing Press & Manu`facturing Company, Chicago, lll., a corporation of Illinois Application Novembef 17, 1938, seriaiNo. 240,918'

14 claims. 'inisinventioz1, wmch reiates to mking mechanism for printing presses in' general, has for its principal object the provision of lan improved ink fountain which is more particularly adapted for useon printing presses' of the power plate' u unit in partial cross sectionjand i-Fi'gurc 3'i s a view in elevation of the unit taken from the right hand side of Figure 2. The' ak diagrammatically in Figure. 1, includes upright u end frame pieces IO which support the roller unit.

The fountain unit proper consists of three rollers, namely a large fountain or distributing roller ll and two cooperating rollers |2 and |3 of smaller diameter and both of which, aslwill be g. hereinafter explained, are mounted adjustably with relation to the surface'of roller ll. By means of the latter'roller the ink is transferred to the inking-in roller ll, the surfaceI of which of `any 'suitable compositio'n. such as rubber and f u which roller in turnV applies the film of ink to the printing plate IS as. it passes beneath it. The circumference of the roller ll is greater -than the length of the maximum size plate to be med, in order to prevent any part of the circum- V 1. ference of this roller from "repeating on| even the maximum size plate.

The rpller i! acts in the same capacity as the blade in-the regular, commonly: known inkinfi-inechanlsms, namely it controls the film 451 of to be applied to the surface of the fountain roller H. 'The roller IQ. takes -the place of the back blade found in fountains used heretofore on-power plate presses.

isshowii in` Figure 1, the rollers I2 and [3 50 so. arranged that there will be a gap between =them1and-the roller H, the gap' between rollers.. il and Vbeingsomewhat wider than between rollers lland ll; The main purpose of roller |3 'is to'for'm an ink retaining space together' with 65 rollers il Iand l2, which is, particularly desirable when'a somewhat fluid ink-is used, in which case a greater volumeof mk must be placed mtoi the fountain than when a heavy ink is used.

` During the operation of vthe press, heavy ink, lf'in Q' small quantity, will gather in the form of a roll'f fountain arrangement, as illustratedy' of ink between the fountain roller II and roller l2, as indicated at l6, therefore, in such event the roller |3- will lose-i-ts regular function and could be omitted. i j

In order to pre-rub the ink before it is trans- 6. ferred to the inking-in roller M, the roller l2 is geared so that its-surface speed shall beconsiderably slower than that of roller ll, thereby giving anink mill efiect which will assure satisfactorydistribution of the ink.

The surface speed o-f roller |3 is slightly faster than that of the fountain'roller Il for'the purpose lof preventing any tendency for even v-a rather thin inkfrom leaking 'backward-out of the`fountain through the gap between rollers |3 and H.

VA scraperblade l5 is arranged above the roller l3 and adjusted in close proximity to its surface so that during the rotation of the roller it will scrape off any ink carried upwardly by the roller, thereby retaining the ink within-the fountain i. e. the space between rollers ll, |2 and l3.

` Referring now'to Figures 2 and 3 of the drawings which illustrate the fountain construction in more detail, it will be apparent that the fountain unit proper, namely rollers li, |2 and |3 are mounted in a separate frame so that they can be adjusted as a whole relative to the inkingin roller for the purpose of maintaining proper contact between the fountainroller ll and the ;0

latter roller. V

The end pieces l'l of the, fountain unit frame are connected together by means of girts |8 so that when all the parts are assembled. vthey'will form a separate unit.. This unit is mounted be- 35.

tween the upright side frames |0 and is provided A with lugs |9 and 20 which extend into a guide slotv 2| formed in the uprights lil. The rollers II, l2' and |3 will be snugly Vfitted between the end pieces il and spring pressed plates 22, see Figure' 3, are placed between the end pieces and the end facesof the rollers to insure against leakage of ink-at the ends of said rollers; The 'roller |2 is 'carried by journal bearings 23 which are slidably mounted within slots 24 provided in the end pieces ll. Coil' Springs 24 urge said journal bearings upwardly against'. adjusting, screws 25- by means of which the roller A|2 can be adjusted vertically. in order to provide the proper gap or clearing between it and the fountain roller l I, the latter being mounted in journal bearings provided inthe lugs 20.

It is important of course that-the adjustmen of the roller |2 be done very accurately, therefore I provide a micrometer scaleV 26 on the screw 25 so thatby means o'fan indicator 21 the opervator can readily observe. the extent of adjustment' 2 aioaosi to the roller |2 and the means for adjusting itare also identical.

' wardly and through a bore in the lug l9. To the lower end of said screw is secured a collar 33 which snugly fits into the gap between the 'lugs IO and 20. It will be seen therefore that by turning the screws 20 at each end of the fountain unit, the entire unit can be adjusted upwardly or downwardly.

By means of the indicator 3| and the scale 32 on the set screw 20, the position of the fountain unit, i. e. the fountain roller ii, with relation to the roller Il can be readily observed.

A lock nut 30 is prvided on the screw 2B so that the fountain unit can be securely looked in its adjusted position.

. The inking-in roller ll also may be adjusted vertically and independently of any of the other rollers. This is accomplished by means of the set screw u' which is threaded into the upright frame ili and the head of which bears against the lower face Il of the journal bearing 35. The screw Ii is so set that when the roller Il rolls over the printing form, there is a slight clearance between it and the face 34. This will assure the des'lred rolling 'contact while the form is being inked in.

The extent of upward movement of the roller il is limited by means' of the head 36 of the adjusting screw 31 bearing against the upper face ofthe journal bearing 35. The screw 31 is threaded into a plate Il which is bolted to the upright Il by means of bolts 39 and 40.

It wiu be resdliy understood that without cewhich the two rollers cooperating with the ink parting from the principle of my invention, many modiflcations could be adopted and therefore I desire to cover any departures of 'design that will come within the meaning of theappended claims.

I claim:

1. Anlink fountain, having in combination a roller unit comprlsing an inking-in roller, an ink. distributing roller, a roller cooperating with said latter roller to control the volume of ink to be suppliedto vsaid inking-in roller, and a' second roller arranged adjacent said distributing roller to provide an ink retaining space together with said distributing roller and the other roller cooperating therewith. I

2. An ink fountain, having in combination a roller unit comprlsing an inking-in roller, an ink distributing roller, a roller cooperating with said latter roller to control the volume of ink to be supplied to said inking-in roller,.a second roller arranged adjacent said distributing roller to provide an ink retaining space together with said distributing roller and the other roller cooperating therewith.-and means for adjusting said latter three rollers as a unit with respect to said inkingin roller. 1

3.'An ink fountain,. having in combination' a roller unit comprlsing an inking-in roller. an 'ink distributing roller, a roller cooperating with said latter roller 'to control `the volume of ink to be supplied to said'inking-in roller, and rotating at a slower rateof speed than said distributing roller'. and a second roller having a greater surface speed than said distributing roller and arranged adjacent said distributing roller to provide an ink retaining space together with said distributing roller and the lother roller cooperating therewith. 4. A'n ink fountain, having` in combination a roller unit comprlsing an inking-in composition roller, an ink distributing steel roller, a steel roller cooperating with said latter roller to control the volume of ink vto be suppied to said inking-in roller, and`a second steel roller arranged adjacent l said distributing roller to provide an ink retaining space together with said distributing 'roller and the other roller cooperating therewith.

5. An ink fountain according to claim 4, in which both of the steel rollers which cooperate 10 with the distributing roller are mounted adjustably.

6. An ink fountain, having,in combination a roller unit comprlsing an inking-in composition roller, an ink distributingI steel roller, arranged to supply a film of ink to said inking-in roller, an adjustable steel roller cooperating with said latter roller to control the volume of ink to be supplied to said inking-in roller and rotating at a slower rate of speed than said distributing roller, and a second adjustable steel roller having a greater surface speed than said 'distributing roller and arranged adjacent said distributing roller 'to provide an ink retaining space together with said distributing roller and the other roller cooperating therewith. 4

'7. An ink fountain according to claim 6, in which are embodied means for adjusting the distributing and the two cooperating steel rollers as a unit in respect to the inking-in roller. :0

8. An ink fountain according to claim 2, in which the Vone roller which cooperates with the distributing roller rotates at a lower rate of speed than the surface speed of the latter, whereas the second' roller cooperating with the distributing gs roller has a greater surface speed than the latter roller.

9. An 'ink fountain according to claim 8, in

distributing roller are mounted adjustably. 40

10. An ink fountain according to claim 1, in which the ends of the distributing roller and of its two cooperating rollers are sealed in order to avoid leakage, of ink.

11. An ink fountain according to claim 10, in which one of the two rollers which cooperate with the ink distributing roller rotates at a lower rate of speed than the surface speed of the latter, whereas the other roller which cooperates with said distributing roller has a greater surface speed than the latter.

12. An ink'fountain according to claim 1, in

-which is embodied a scraper blade arranged to scrape surplus ink from the surface of the second roller which cooperates with the distributing 66 roller.

13. An ink fountain having in combination a roller unit comprlsing an inking-in roller, an ink distributing roller, a roller cooperating with said latter roller to control the volume of ink to be 604 supplied to said inking-in roller and rotating at a slower rate of speed than said distributing roller, a second roller having a greater surface speed than said distributing roller and arranged adjacent said distributing roller to provide an ink retaining space together with said distributing roller and the other roller cooperating therewith. and'a scraper blade arranged to scrape surplus ink from the surface of said second roller. ,m 14. An ink 'fountain according to claim 1, in which the circumference of the inking-in roller is greater than the maximum length of the printing form to be used. 4 4

'EWARD F. DUDLEY. 15 

